


Nothing Wrong with Being Yourself

by KitKatWinchester



Category: Irondad and Spiderson - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Acephobia, Asexual Character, Asexual Discrimination, Asexual Peter Parker, Asexual pride, Bullying, Coming Out, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, IronDad and SpiderSon, LGBTQ Bullying, M/M, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Minor Ned Leeds/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Panic Attacks, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Has Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Michelle Jones, Protective Ned Leeds, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, interwebs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:15:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27161704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitKatWinchester/pseuds/KitKatWinchester
Summary: When Peter Parker decides to come out as asexual on National Coming Out Day, things don't go quite as planned. Luckily for him, he has a great best friend, an even better boyfriend, and averyover-protective father-figure that still have his back, no matter what.
Relationships: Betty Brant & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds/Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 26
Kudos: 198





	Nothing Wrong with Being Yourself

**Author's Note:**

  * For [baloobird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/baloobird/gifts).



> This is my first prompt and I'm SO excited! Huge thank you to my girl Kris for sending in a prompt! I really appreciate all that you've done to support me, and I'm lucky to have you as a friend!
> 
> This is the prompt she sent in:  
>  _Hi!!! Congrats on starting prompts, my dude!!! For my prompt, can I get Ace!Peter with some protective Tony? If you want me to get more specific please let me know but I want to see what you come up with 😁 love you, friend!!! I hope you're having a good day 💜💜💜 ___
> 
> _  
> _I had SO much fun writing this prompt, and I hope I did it justice! (Also, I may have added a little bit of InterWebs, just for you, because I know you like them. 💜💜💜) Also, it's a little bit longer than I was anticipating, but I kind of got carried away, so I hope it's not too long lol._  
>  _
> 
> _  
> _A couple of trigger warnings:  
>  -Acephobia  
> -Panic attacks  
> -Bullying_  
>  _
> 
> _  
> _Otherwise, I hope you (and anyone else who reads this!) enjoy the story! Love you lots! 💜💜💜💜_  
>  _

“Are you sure you’re up for this, kiddo?” 

Peter looked up at his father-figure before glancing back down at his phone, the picture of the asexual flag staring boldly back at him. 

“Yes?” He tried to say confidently, but instead it came out as a question, and he cursed himself silently. “I mean,” he started, coughing lightly. “Yes.” 

Tony raised his eyebrow a little, teasingly. 

“Well that was very convincing,” he joked. However, his expression quickly turned more serious as he put a hand on his kid’s shoulder. “You don’t have to do this, ya know. If you’re not ready, you’re not ready. And ‘coming out day’ or not,” he continued, putting the holiday in quotes. “You should do it when the time is right.” 

Peter stared at him, then looked back down at his phone before moving his gaze up to his mentor again. 

“I know,” he started, slowly. “But...this is, like, step one. All it is is the flag, and, I mean, it’s only on my Snapchat, and I only have, like, eight friends on here anyways, and two of them already know, so…it’ll be okay.” He smiled at Tony in reassurance, though a part of him knew he was mostly trying to reassure himself. But he relaxed a little at the easy smile Tony gave him as the man moved his hand to Peter’s cheek. Peter leaned into the touch gratefully, closing his eyes in comfort before opening them as Tony started talking.

“I’ll always support you, kiddo,” he said. “Whatever you decide.” Peter stared at him for another minute, then eventually nodded, pulling away and turning back to his phone. 

“I’m ready,” he said, adding the caption “#nationalcomingoutday” before hitting “Send to My Story”. As the blue bar spun in a circle, uploading the story, he almost took it back, deleting any evidence that it had happened, but he stopped himself, putting the phone on the table and watching as the blue circle turned white, signifying the image’s successful posting. 

He smiled, then looked over at Tony, whose own smile showed obvious pride. Peter started to say something, but then his phone buzzed twice with Snapchat notifications and he jumped, quickly flipping it over without looking, afraid to see whoever had messaged him. When he looked back at Tony, he was convinced the man would be laughing at him, but instead, all he did was hold a hand out, expression open and understanding.

“Do you want me to look for you?” he asked. Peter looked at him, then at his outstretched hand, then back at the phone, still flipped over on the table. Eventually, he exhaled deeply before looking back at Tony, shaking his head.

“No. I’m the one that posted it. I need to look at it.” Tony nodded a little, but instead of retracting his hand, he moved it to his kid’s back, rubbing it lightly, providing Peter with the extra sense of comfort he needed. Peter took a deep breath before flipping the phone over, cringing in anticipation. However, he wound up sighing in relief when he saw who the two notifications were from, swiping quickly to open them. 

_Ned:_ _You’re still the best boyfriend ever._

 _MJ:_ _You’re a dork. Also I’m proud of you._

Peter giggled a little, turning his phone so Tony could see it. The man shook his head, but his own face lit up with a smile. 

“Not too bad after all, huh?” Tony said, and Peter smiled even bigger, proud of himself for having done it. 

_This is fine,_ he thought to himself. _Why was I even worried? I can handle this._

He should’ve known. 

~

When Peter made his way to school on Monday morning—two days after he had posted about being asexual— he was in high spirits. The only other people to say anything about his story were a couple of people from the decathlon team and Betty, and they’d all been really nice about it. Betty had to ask him what it meant, but once he'd told her, she'd sent him an “Oh cool” followed by a picture of the grapes she'd been eating with the caption “they’re purple”, which had made him laugh. 

However, once he walked into Midtown, it didn’t take long for him to notice that something was...off.

The back of his neck had a slight sting to it right away, which made him straighten up warily. But even without his little tingle, he could tell the other students were looking at him. It wasn’t until he got to his locker that he found out why. 

“Well look who still decided to show up,” Flash sneered, and Peter tensed right away, resisting the urge to look at him. “Kinda surprised you’re here, Penis. Or, I guess I can’t call you that anymore, since you apparently never use yours.” 

Peter froze, and for a split second, he lost all sense of where he was.

_How did he find out?_

“Guess your Snapchat isn’t as private as you thought.” 

_Shit, did I say that out loud?_ Peter honestly wasn’t sure. His entire body felt like it was made of lead, and he was finding it harder and harder to breathe. 

“I mean, what is _wrong_ with you? Oh wait, I know. Ned just wasn’t giving you enough, huh?” Flash continued his jeering, and Peter swore he could hear other students starting to laugh, but he couldn’t turn his head to look. As angry as the comment about Ned made him, his panic was overshadowing any rage. 

_Not here, not here,_ he silently pleaded with himself, but he could tell it wasn’t gonna matter. He was minutes away from a full-blown panic attack. _Why did I make that stupid post?_

“You know, maybe all you need is for someone with experience to show you a few things,” Flash was close now—Peter could feel him right next to him, and he tried hard to slide away, but he couldn’t get himself to move. Luckily, he wound up not having to. 

“Leave him alone, Flash,” Ned’s voice rang loud and clear from down the hall, and Peter could practically feel the eye roll as Flash muttered: 

“Wow. Who knew asexual also meant weak. Since when do you need your boyfriend to stick up for you?” 

“He said leave him alone, _Eugene,”_ another voice rang out, causing the slightest rumble of “ooohs” from the rest of his classmates. Peter was still frozen, but he let out a small breath of air at the second voice. _MJ._

Finally, Flash turned away from him, facing what Peter assumed were his friends, and it gave Peter the courage he needed to turn his head just enough to watch the interaction out of the corner of his eye.

“Ah come on. I just wanted to show Peter a fun time.” To anyone else, Flash’s voice would be all charm, but to Peter, it was all menace. He shuddered—the most his body could move right now—as MJ’s voice shouted again. 

“A fun time? From you? I’d have more fun crawling around in the dumpster behind the school.” Several people snickered at that, and it clearly pissed Flash off, because he stomped over to MJ with a growl. 

“Shut up,” he grumbled at her, but she stood tall, staring him down. Luckily, the school bell rang before things could get any worse, and the majority of the students scattered, including Flash, leaving Ned and MJ to run to his terror-stricken self. 

“Hey,” Ned said, grabbing his hand lightly. Peter squeezed back with everything he had. “You okay?” Peter shook his head as much as he could muster, and he could feel tears already falling. “Right, dumb question, sorry…” Ned trailed off, and Peter was pretty sure he was looking at MJ, but he couldn’t really tell. He heard MJ whisper something, and the next thing he knew, Ned had wrapped an arm around him and was leading him to the bathroom. MJ was holding the door for them, but after it shut, Peter was able to register that it was just him and Ned, making their way to the nearest wall. Peter slid to the floor, hand still gripping Ned’s as his boyfriend slid down next to him. 

“Hey,” he heard Ned say, but he couldn’t look at him. He was shaking uncontrollably, and he felt like he was gonna puke. Ned put an arm around his shoulders and leaned his own head against his, seemingly trying to help him steady his breathing, but it wasn’t working. 

_How did he find out? He’s gonna tell everyone. I’m not ready for that. I’m not, I’m not, I can’t—_

“Babe I need you to breathe,” Ned was saying, and Peter was trying, he was, but his head was spinning, and he couldn’t get his thoughts under control. _How could I have been this stupid? How could I have left myself so vulnerable?_

He tucked his knees up and rested his arms on top of them, tucking his head in between. It occurred to him, then, that MJ had walked in, and she and Ned were talking, but he couldn’t really process what they were saying until he heard “Stark”...

_Oh my god. What am I gonna tell Mr. Stark? He’ll be so disappointed in me for the way I handled this. This shouldn’t have happened. It shouldn’t matter. I need to be stronger, I shouldn’t be breaking down like this. I shouldn’t...I can’t…_

Suddenly, strong hands were gripping his shoulders, and he tensed, but then a familiar voice spoke up.

“Look at me, kid,” his mentor was saying. “Come on, I know you can do it.” Peter shook his head instinctively, shrinking further into himself, but the grip around his shoulders only tightened, firm, but gentle. “Yes you can, come on.” Finally, Peter lifted his head to see Tony Stark staring back at him, but instead of the disappointed look he was expecting, Tony’s eyes were all comfort and concern. Even still, all Peter could do was stare at him, wanting to apologize for making him come all the way here and for making such a fuss, but he couldn’t. But none of that mattered, because as the tears continued streaming down his face, Tony just pulled him closer, cradling him gently as his breathing got more and more frantic. The man continued to hold him tight, doing everything he could to relax him, and eventually, it worked. Tears were still falling, but Peter could feel his breathing evening out as he worked subconsciously to match Tony’s own breaths. Eventually, his body stopped shaking, and when his tears finally did stop, he relaxed into Tony fully. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep. 

~ 

Peter woke up groggily, rolled up in a blanket on a couch—a couch he knew all too well. 

He sat up with a jolt, not sure how he’d ended up back at the Tower—hadn’t he just been at school?—but when he saw Tony sitting there looking at him bemusedly, StarkPad in hand, he stopped as the timeline of events played in his mind. 

“Did you...did you carry me?” he asked, avoiding the actual topic at hand. Tony stared at him, seeming to debate if he was going to accept Peter’s avoidance, and eventually, he did, putting the StarkPad down on the table. 

“I might have,” he said before reaching towards another table on his right, grabbing a glass and handing it over. Peter took it gratefully, sipping it at first, but then quickly downing it, his throat dry from...well, everything that had happened. 

“What did you tell--”

“That you weren’t feeling great,” Tony interrupted, clearly anticipating the question. “Which, technically, wasn’t a lie.” Tony stood, grabbing his StarkPad off the table in the process. “And I told May where you were, so she wouldn’t worry, but I gave her the same details I gave to your principal, so she’ll probably be calling as soon as she’s done with work.” He turned towards the kitchen, then, but he didn’t get far. 

“I’m sorry,” Peter blurted before he could stop himself, and Tony halted in his tracks, tensing up.

“What?” Tony whispered, and if Peter’s hearing wasn’t enhanced, he probably wouldn’t have heard him.

“I’m sorry,” Peter repeated, a little more timidly this time. Tony was standing stone-still in front of him, and as hard as Peter was trying, he couldn’t read his body language at all. “About all of that. I should’ve...I should’ve handled it better. I did it. I made the post. I...I should’ve been more ready for the conseq--”

“Stop,” Tony practically shouted, and Peter jumped a little bit. After several seconds of tense silence, Tony spoke up again. “Do not, under any circumstances, blame _any_ of this on yourself.” Finally, the man turned around, and when he did, Peter’s eyes widened. As much as Tony was trying to hide it, Peter could see it now--his mentor was _seething._ “Because none of this, _none of it,_ is your fault. You are one of the smartest, kindest, most fearless people I know, and you did something so incredibly brave, and you deserved so much more than all of that _shit_ that that _asshole_ threw at you.” Tony’s voice had been getting increasingly louder, but when he looked at Peter, he stopped, likely noticing the surprise and slight fear in Peter’s expression. He looked away briefly, cursing under his breath before breathing deeply. When he turned back to Peter, his expression was a lot calmer, but Peter just kept staring at him, not sure what to say. 

Eventually, Tony made his way back over, sinking into the couch next to Peter. Instinctively, Peter moved closer and tucked himself into Tony’s side, and he heard the man chuckle a little before a gentle arm came around his shoulders, pulling him in tighter. They sat like that for several minutes, reveling in the comfort they gave each other, but before long, Peter’s anxiety started to get the better of him. 

“Mr. Stark...” he started, voice barely above a whisper. “What’s wrong with me?” He could feel the way Tony’s muscles tensed, just the slightest, and he wished he could retract the question, but he couldn’t help thinking it. 

“Nothing,” Tony said quickly, tightening his grip on him. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with being yourself. No matter what other kids say, or what they do, you are who you are, and who you are is amazing. You got that?” Peter shifted a little, but didn’t confirm, not sure if he really believed it. “Hey,” Tony said, pushing Peter away from him just enough to lock eyes with him. “I mean it, kiddo. Everything I said before--it’s all true, okay? You are a better person than anyone I have ever met, and being asexual doesn’t change that _at all._ And no matter how you identify, I will always, _always_ love you for you. Understand?” Peter stared back at him, trying to find the lie, but all he saw was sincerity in the man’s expression, and eventually, he nodded. Tony gave him a soft smile before pulling him in again, and Peter accepted the hug gratefully, curling into the warmth. They stayed like that for several minutes, and it wasn’t until they eventually pulled away that Peter realized that his father-figure had used the “L” word. 

“I love you too,” he said quickly, and Tony turned to him in surprise--almost as if he hadn’t realized what he’d said either--staring at him for several seconds, as if unsure how to react. In the end, he smirked a little before reaching over to ruffle Peter’s hair, causing Peter’s own lips to split into a playful grin.

“So,” Tony started as he stood up. “Now that all of that is out of the way, your boyfriend has texted you about...fifty-seven times now.” He reached into his back pocket, pulling out Peter’s phone and handing it over. “You might want to text him back and tell him you’re alive.” Peter froze, staring at the phone, but Tony clearly sensed his concern. “Don’t worry, kiddo. I made some adjustments. The only people who can contact you on this thing for the foreseeable future are me, May, and those other two weirdos.” Peter’s whole body relaxed, and when he eventually took the phone from Tony, his mentor gave him a comforting smile before picking up his StarkPad and Peter’s now-empty water glass, making his way back towards the kitchen. 

Peter held the phone upside down for a minute, staring at it before finally flipping it over. Sure enough, there were upwards of thirty missed texts from Ned, as well as a separate slew of text message notifications from their little group chat. He opened Ned’s messages first, prepared to ease any worries, but when the thread came through, instead of consisting of frantic or panicked messages, it was filled to the brim with purple hearts. He scrolled through all of them, even seeing some silly little gifs about asexual pride. When he moved to the group chat, he saw even more hearts from Ned, as well a bunch of pictures from MJ of drawings from her sketchbook, all of them of him wearing various asexual pride items. He smiled, scrolling through all of them one more time before sending a reply. 

_Thanks you guys. For everything. You didn’t have to do that._

He’d barely hit send when their replies came back in. 

_Don’t be an idiot. Of course we did,_ MJ said, followed by Ned’s: 

_Yeah! What else are friends/boyfriends for?_

Peter laughed a little at the slash, thumbing back another reply. 

_Well, I guess I do have some good friends. And an even better boyfriend._

_Well, I have to make sure you don’t forget how much I love you,_ Ned said, adding a purple heart for emphasis.

 _I don’t think I could any time soon,_ Peter responded, adding his own purple heart. 

_Ugh. Can’t you two be dorky lovebirds in your own chat?_ MJ eventually cut in, but with the eye roll emoji that followed, Peter knew it was all part of their fun.

He was lucky to have them. 

When Tony finally came back into the room, this time carrying two mugs of hot cocoa, Peter put the phone down to take one of the mugs from him. 

“All good?” Tony asked, sitting next to him again on the couch. Peter nodded, taking a sip of his hot cocoa and sighing happily at the warmth.

“So I was thinking, now that we’ve addressed the elephant in the room, we could plan that little brat’s murder. My vote goes to slow and torturous poisoning, but I guess throwing him off a bridge is always an option.” Peter practically spat out his hot cocoa. 

“Mr. Stark!” he shouted, aghast, but Tony only stared at him, and Peter honestly couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not. “You can’t murder Flash.” 

“I’m Iron Man. I can do whatever I want.”

“Exactly!” Peter retorted. “You’re _Iron Man._ You can’t just go around murdering teenagers. Even if he is a total jerk, he doesn’t deserve to die.” Tony raised an eyebrow at him, then smirked a little.

“Relax, kiddo, I’m kidding.” Peter sighed in exasperation, but laughed all the same. That is, until he heard Tony’s next words. “Mostly.” His laugh turned into a glare, which caused Tony to burst into laughter instead, and eventually, Peter was joining him again. 

“Alright, alright,” Tony said once they had settled down. “If I can’t plan a murder, then how about a movie?” Peter nodded enthusiastically, transferring his cocoa to his other hand so he could squish himself up against his mentor all over again. Tony laughed, doing the same with his own mug as he wrapped an arm around his kid again.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., play Empire Strikes Back,” he said to the open air. The A.I. obliged, and the TV flicked on, bringing up the famous title card of Peter’s favorite film series. 

And as the classic theme music started, and Peter curled a little bit closer into his father-figure’s side, he started to think that maybe, just maybe, he could believe Tony’s advice after all.

There’s nothing wrong with being yourself.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading this story! Kris, I really hope you liked it, and I hope anyone else who read it did too! This was my first time writing Ace!Peter, but I feel like it came out pretty well! I hope you guys feel the same way! 
> 
> If you liked what I did, you can always check out my other works, and if you actually like _me _for some reason, you can come say hi on[Tumblr!](https://kitkatwinchester.tumblr.com/)__
> 
> _  
> _Thanks again for reading! 💜_  
> _


End file.
